


Lucky

by WhiteLionOfVoltron



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: But also, But like so can Keith??!??!, Fluff and Angst, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Lance can sing, Lance's Birthday, M/M, So yeh that's it, Soft keith, Tags are over why r u still reading this shit, They finally get a b r e a k, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, not so slow burn, oh and
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-08 00:12:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11634873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteLionOfVoltron/pseuds/WhiteLionOfVoltron
Summary: Lance is about to turn eighteen, and it's his first birthday without his family, so the crew decides to make it a memorable one.





	Lucky

**Author's Note:**

> Prepare for fluff.

     Lance is in the star-map room again. He’s sitting quietly with his chin in his hand, staring up at the floating hologram of Earth. It’s blown up bigger than him and he can see clouds drifting on its surface. He misses it. Especially now.

     Hunk is standing silently in the doorway at the back of the room. The door had opened loudly but Lance was so absorbed by the hologram that he didn’t notice. Hunk knows that Lance is down this week. And he knows why.

     He hears footsteps and sees Keith walking toward him. The Red Paladin opens his mouth to say something but Hunk shushes him.

     “What’s going on?” he whispers, peering through the doorway and frowning when he notices Lance sitting and blankly staring up at the hologram. “Is he okay?”

     “He’s just…homesick,” he replies softly, eyes burning with sympathetic tears.

     “Oh. That’s…that’s so…sad. I mean, I know it’s kind of a generic response, but that’s just…it sucks,” he muses, voice breaking.

     “Yeah. I mean I miss home too but it’s so much worse for him right now,” he sighs.

     “Why now?” Keith inquires as he stares at the back of Lance’s head.

     “His birthday is in a couple of days. It’s his first birthday he’ll spend away from his family his whole life and it’s just…I think he’s kind of scared…or sad? I don’t know,” he mumbles.

     Keith’s eyes widen. “How old is he gonna be?” he asks.

     “He’s turning eighteen,” he replies.

     “That’s…that’s a big deal, right?” he hums.

     “I guess. But he said he doesn’t want any big celebrations,” he arches an eyebrow. “What are you thinking?”

     Keith turns to him and smirks.

* * *

     Lance is confused. Everyone has been avoiding him pointedly for the past day and a half and he’s starting to wonder if he’s done something wrong. Was it the mission yesterday? He did sort of fly in recklessly even though Keith was right behind him…it had almost cost them the mission. He starts to think negatively the morning before his birthday. It’s not what Keith had intended but he’s so busy with the plans he’s making that he can’t tell Lance is upset.

* * *

     While Lance was worrying everyone hated him, they were planning a small celebration. Hunk has been researching different ingredients from space to find a recipe for Lance’s favorite meal, Fricasè de Pollo and Fried Sweet Plantains. Then, he’ll make a few Pumpkin Flans and a cake worthy of his best friend’s huge heart.

     Pidge is in charge of music. She hacks Lance’s old MP3 player that he brought from Earth and manages to pull most of the songs off the little device which stopped working without a charger.

     Allura is with Shiro trying to find a planet to hold the small party. They’ve narrowed it down to three planets. Each has attributes that Lance loves. One is prone to rain, another is covered in water. And another is mainly beaches. They’re most likely going to the third, a planet called Fluxoss. It’s filled with islands and clear blue sea water. Its waters are populated by creatures called Valaskarhu, a docile animal that looks like a mix of an orca and a polar bear. They’re furry all over, black white and gray, with the body of a killer whale and four massive legs of a bear. They’re omnivorous and it’s said that they’re quite fun to ride. Lance hasn’t been swimming since they left Earth, so Keith is excited to treat him to one enjoyable day.

     Despite their rivalry, Keith does care for Lance. He cares for everyone on the crew. To tell the truth, he doesn’t really know why Lance hates him so much. He’s in charge of finding a present from the whole crew. He knows that Lance likes music, so he’s been talking to Shiro about what might be a good idea. Hunk has mentioned that Lance can play several instruments. Guitar, piano, ukulele, and clarinet—he learned that one from his nephew. He’s also heard Lance sing from time to time, and he’s quite good at it. His whole life revolved around music, family, flirting, and swimming. So, he’d make sure he didn’t quell Lance’s attempts at flirting with Allura by smacking him on the back of the head as he usually does, and that Lance feels as home as possible.

     Suddenly, he knows exactly what to get him.

* * *

     Lance is sleeping in his room when he’s jolted awake by the sound of a wormhole opening. It’s early evening, or at least he _thinks_ it is. He jumps out of bed and tugs on his shirt and jacket before wandering out to the kitchen. Their normal food goo dinner that they make themselves just doesn’t seem appetizing when he’s this lonely. He instead just grabs a glass of water. He stumbles sleepily down the hall back to his room, dropping to sit at his desk and write. Every day he writes in his diary that Allura gave him and the others when they first got to space. He writes letters to his family every day, so that if he does manage to get back to Earth, or…if he doesn’t. He tells them all about his day and how much he misses them. And even if they can’t see it, it’s the thought that counts. He likes to think the Garrison told his mother that he was alright and was simply on a mission. But he knows they probably think he’s gone for good. He tries to forget that the crew has been ignoring him all week, and then he realizes that hey, his birthday is tomorrow. He misses his mother’s cooking. She would always make him flans on his birthday and his favorite dinner. Then, they would all go down to Varadero Beach.

     Lance finishes his letter and yawns, going back to bed.

* * *

     Keith and Shiro climb out of their Lions over the jungle planet they’ve found and immediately start bringing down a tree for the wood. They set to work on the gift quickly and quietly while the others are asleep and Allura and Coran are helping. They cut the wood into shape and each of them sign their names and messages on their gift. Now for the preparation.

* * *

     Lance gets up in the morning and is immediately overcome with sadness. It’s his first birthday away from home and he’s been ignored by who he thought were his friends all week. He wanders into the dining hall and sees everyone whispering amongst themselves.

     “Morning guys,” he says solemnly.

     “Oh uh…morning Lance!” Hunk greets. Their conversation stops and they all look in different directions.

     “Well, are we going to eat or not?” Shiro claps his hands and zooms from the room to get their breakfast.

     The party doesn’t start for another six Vargas, and until then they have to keep Lance from finding out.

      Little do they know that they’re just making his bad mood worse.

* * *

      They avoid Lance all day, and Lance slowly starts getting more and more upset. Brooding in his room, he writes paragraph after paragraph in his journal. He writes about how they don’t care about him anymore. Not that they need to, Lance isn’t that important, is he? He doesn’t contribute much anyway, does he? He wishes he could be back home. At least there he had a purpose. There were days at the Garrison when he regretted going, but his _sobrina_ Carmen was sick and needed money to keep her going. As a fighter pilot, he would earn a lot of money for his older brother and sister in law to keep her treatments going. It’s just one part of the reason he was so angry with Keith. Cargo pilots make half as much as fighter pilots, so he was grateful to have been bumped up when Keith dropped out, even when he missed their rivalry. He did regret going to the Garrison at times, especially when Iverson made him feel like a lowly piece of pond scum or hate himself so much he considered quitting. His mother had disagreed with him when she heard what he’d had planned.

* * *

     _‘Mijo, the Garrison is too **dangerous**_ _for you! You could be killed and I need you alive! I love you mi cielito but you cannot just—‘_

_‘Mama, I can take care of myself! I am not a child anymore!’_

_‘You **are** Lance. You are **my** child. I do not want to lose you!’_

_‘You will not lose me, Mama. I will do fine as a pilot, you will see!’_

* * *

_**SIX MONTHS AFTER**_

* * *

**_ON EARTH_ **

* * *

**** _Lance’s mother stood in the living room, hand over her mouth._

_**‘Three students from the Galaxy Garrison are missing, presumed dead. Lance McClain, Hunk Garrett, and Pidge Gunderson, one of the young trainee crews vanished late last night, last seen during an emergency drill. Lance McClain is survived by his parents and nine siblings, as well as his six nieces and nephews. Hunk is survived by his parents and two younger brothers. Pidge is survived by his mother.’**_

**** _Hunk’s parents were with her for dinner, and there had been nothing but tears throughout the house for the past day. Lance was their youngest family member and he was the spoiled child. His mother would recover with time, but his disappearance had been the most devastating blow to her since her miscarriage when Lance was six._

* * *

_**BACK WITH LANCE**_

* * *

He feels guilty now. He would never have left had he known what would have happened. But…he supposes the universe is better for it. He’s Blue’s pilot—for what reason he doesn’t know—and without him, Voltron couldn’t be formed. So, he supposes at least he does have a purpose out here in space. But of course, anyone could do what he’s doing.

* * *

     It’s nearing the time of the party when Lance disappears. He’s nowhere to be found in the castle, so they check around the area with the lions. Then, Keith has the brilliant idea to check the Blue Lion’s bay. He jogs in and sees Blue sitting with a raised particle barrier. He moves over and puts his hands up against the barrier.

     “Lance? Let me in,” he orders.

     No answer. Blue keeps the barrier up. He sighs and knocks against it.

     “Come on, I just want to see what’s wrong,” he begs the beast.

     The Blue Lion makes a growling noise, a soft rumble that shakes the hangar floor. He can see Lance suddenly, through her eyes. He’s sitting in the pilot’s seat with his knees drawn up to his chest and his legs crossed at the shins. He has his face tucked between his knees and his shoulders are trembling. But just as quick as it was there, the image was gone. Is Lance… _crying?_ He bangs a fist on the shield.

     “Blue, I want to help him. Let me in, please?” he tries.

     A beat.

     The shield lowers and he backs away as the Blue Lion lowers her head and opens her broad jaws. He immediately leaps inside and climbs up into the cockpit. He turns around to look at Lance and sees him in the same position. He walks over to him and gets on one knee to see his eyes. He’s definitely crying, and he’s shaking like a leaf.

     “Hey, are you okay?” he mumbles.

     Lance is quiet.

     “What’s the matter?”

     …

     “Did we do something? Is that why Blue is mad at me?” he asks, putting a hand on his shoulder.

     Lance looks up at him with red eyes. He sniffs and wipes his nose with his forearm.

     “N…no. It wasn’t you,” he mutters.

     “Then why are you upset?” he whispers.

     “It’s just…I thought…I thought you were…ignoring me all week. Y-you guys wouldn’t even look at me the whole time,” he hiccups.

     Keith’s eyes widen. “Oh…Lance, no. No no no, you’ve got it all wrong. Just…come with me, okay?” he takes Lance’s hand and helps him up, taking him from the cockpit. He drags him silently to the main room, and the others look up with relief.

     “Guys?” he nudges Lance. “Tell them.”

     “H…have you guys been ignoring me?” he fumbles.

     Hunk and Pidge look at each other in horror. Had they really completely ignored him?

     “Of course not Lance,” Shiro walks over and hugs Lance close. “Allura, now,” he nods.

     “What?” his eyebrows furrow.

     Allura opens a wormhole and the castle jumps. They emerge from space just above Fluxoss.

     “Wh…,” Lance sniffs and moves away from Shiro. “Where are we?”

     “We’re at your party,” Hunk smiles warmly, coming up behind him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “Happy birthday buddy.”

     Lance’s eyes widen. “I didn’t…I didn’t think you remembered,” he blushes.

     “Of course I did. We all helped plan it,” he laughs. “We never meant to ignore you. We were just trying to hide it from you.”

     Lance is crying again, furiously wiping away tears as the castle lands.

     “Why are you crying?” Pidge frowns.

     “I just…I didn’t think anyone cared,” he chokes.

     “Oh Lance,” Allura walks over and hugs him. He buries his face in her shoulder before moving back and looking at everyone.

     “Thank you, guys,” he smiles.

     “Now, go get your swim trunks on. We’re going swimming,” Coran orders.

     Lance’s face lights off and he skips off to his room with giddy excitement. The others hurry to get ready, bringing out the gift to wrap it and getting changed.

* * *

     Once they get outside, they all know they’ve made the right choice. Lance runs through the warm sand and dives straight into the ocean. He pops back up and spits water, laughing loudly and backflipping into the sea. Keith and Hunk dive in next. Then Shiro and Allura ease into the water. Coran sticks to the land at first before joining them.

     Pidge finishes setting everything up before she gets in, just in time for Lance to start a splash war. It ends with him tackling Keith and shoves him underwater by his head. The two tussle for a minute before Lance ultimately winds in his own element.

     “We have a few other surprises,” Allura points out into the sea.

     Lance whirls in the water to see the fins of several Valaskarhu peeking from the waves. He gasps and swims toward them. He disappears beneath the waves before popping back up, though taller than he should have.

     “Guys, come on!” he yells.

     He’s _riding_ it.

     It zooms off, and Lance lets out a whoop as it takes him for a spin around the huge island they’d landed on. There’s not enough of them for everyone to ride one, so Hunk and Pidge climb on one, Shiro and Allura on the other. Coran takes one of his own, and Lance takes Keith’s hand to pull him onto his. Keith ends up having to wrap his arms around Lance’s waist so he doesn’t fall off, and both of them are blushing the whole time as they enjoy the ride through the sea. It suddenly jumps out of the water and Keith is slammed against Lance’s back. Their faces turn red as a pair of tomatoes. They ignore it and continue to let out shouts of glee as the cool sea air blows against their faces and through their wet hair. Eventually, they climb off and start playing with the animals, petting their snouts and feeding them different things from the ship. Then, they start playing volleyball in the water with a beach ball they managed to find on a planet a few weeks ago. Lance’s team ends up creaming Keith’s because hey, he’s a beach kid. The day is filled with laughter and enjoyment among the whole crew, and nothing about it goes wrong, surprisingly. Once the sun starts to set they all climb out of the water and sit in makeshift lounge-chairs on the beach beneath trees that look like palm trees with green trunks and orange leaves. They manage to make a hammock between two trees that Shiro lounges in while Keith and Lance sit in a couple of loungers and argue.

     “No. No way would Batman actually beat Superman,” Lance barks with laughter.

     “Of course he would. Kryptonite?” Keith reminds him.

     “Superman could literally just come up behind him and snap his neck before he had time to react. The guy can break the sound barrier!” Lance throws his hands up.

     “Yeah, but Bats would be prepared for that. He’d already have the Kryptonite ready once he found out Supes had gone bad!” Keith points out.

     “Bullshit!” he snaps.

     “Hey!” Shiro lifts his sunglasses. “Language.”

     “Crap,” Lance corrects.

     “Better!” he lets them fall back over his eyes.

     “But yeah Superman would totally kick Batman’s ass,” Lance finishes.

     Shiro shoots him a look.

     “Butt,” he arches an eyebrow.

     “I don’t know why I even try anymore,” Shiro sighs.

     “Does this mean you’ll stop telling me not to swear?” he asks hopefully.

     “Only for today. Since it’s your birthday and all, mister adult,” he rolls his eyes.

     “Ah fuck yeah!” he yells happily.

     “Can I—“

     “NO,” Shiro snaps at Keith.

     He lets out a whine and pouts, crossing his arms.

     Their argument forgotten, Keith and Lance fall silent, sipping their punch that Hunk had managed to make.

     “Dinner time!” Hunk calls.

     Lance looks up confused. His eyes light up when he spots the familiar dish.

     “Is that—“

     “Fricasè de Pollo and Fried Sweet Plantains,” Hunk smirks. “But not exactly. I did have to improvise some stuff. Oh, and these.” He pulls out some of the flans he’d made and Lance’s face brightens even more.

     “Did I ever tell you I love you big guy?” he inquires.

     “You could stand to mention it more,” he smirks.

     They all help themselves to the food, and Lance is absolutely _addicted_ to it, forcing Hunk to agree to make more every now and then.

     Pidge starts the [playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiqwU6MjmdOEzcg1vgo41rUXUjC7vdMdL) she’d set up and Lance’s smile somehow gets bigger as he dances and sings along, quickly getting the others to join in with his contagious laugh and voice. They’re all singing with their mouths full but it doesn’t really matter since no one else is there. Even Coran and Allura manage a few songs that they’ve heard Lance singing around the castle. Soon, they’re all screaming the lyrics of one of Lance’s favorite songs, and they’re laughing until they cry.

* * *

     Once they calm down, they finish eating and then it’s time for Lance to open his present. He can tell what it is the second he sees it, though he carefully unwraps the paper and takes the guitar in his hands. It’s beautiful, made of some sort of white wood with blue strings that seem to glow when he strums them Each team member has signed their name on the guitar’s face. There’s also a message from all of them engraved in black cursive handwriting that is quite obviously Keith’s. Only he can write that neat.

     _‘Happy birthday Lance. Hope you have another great year, and that you carry this with you no matter what. If you want to know how much we all love you, just count the waves.’_

     He tunes it and a single tear slips down his cheek.

     “God,” he chokes.

     “Keith and Shiro made it,” Pidge offers. “It was Keith’s idea.”

     “Holy shit man,” he squeaks. “I could kiss you!”

     Keith blushes like mad and the others hold their breaths.

     “No like seriously…uh…I mean. Ah what the hell,” Lance shrugs, then lets the guitar fall to his side as he presses his lips against Keith’s. The other teen’s eyes widen but he melts into it. The others cheer.

     “About time!” Pidge giggles.

     “Oh yeah, I figured,” Hunk shrugs at Allura, who is absolutely stunned.

     “I’m so proud,” Shiro mutters.

     “Me too,” Coran wipes a tear away.

     Keith and Lance separate and laugh, giving the others a look. They’re all completely understanding of them.

* * *

     They set up a fire after the sun sets, and Lance sits by it with his guitar, Keith sitting next to him. He strums it gently and starts to [sing.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Jd32ygw0Q)

* * *

      _‘Do ya hear me? Talkin’ to you. Across the water, across the deep, blue, ocean. Under the ocean sky oh my, baby I’m tryin’.’_

* * *

Keith recognizes the song and joins in.

* * *

**‘Boy, I hear you, in my dreams. I feel your whisper, across the sea, I keep you with me in my heart.** **You make it easier when life gets hard.’**

**_‘I’m lucky I’m in love with my best friends, I’m lucky to have been where I have been. I’m lucky to be comin’ home again.’_**

* * *

The others bob their heads along and dance as the two boys sing. Lance has the voice of an angel in Keith’s opinion, though Keith’s voice is quite nice too. They finish the song and laugh as the fire crackles gently. Lance snuggles against Keith and takes another bite of the cake that Hunk had managed to make. It’s delicious.

* * *

     Lance hums and wakes up warm and cozy. He looks down and remembers the previous night. He and Keith fell asleep in Lance’s bunk, and they’re pretty much spooning. Lance has Keith tucked against his stomach, Keith being the little spoon. He snorts. Of course. Keith is short, why would he not be the little spoon.

     Keith huffs and tosses his head but doesn’t wake up. Lance fights the urge to sneeze as Keith’s long dark hair tickles his nose.

     “Hey,” he nudges Keith.

     Keith opens his eyes and rolls over to face Lance.

     “Mmmorning,” he murmurs.

     “Morning,” Lance smiles.

     “Love you,” he hums softly, kissing Lance’s nose.

     “Love you too,” he smiles.

     The two drift off again, and the others decide to just leave them be.

     Best birthday ever, Lance would say.

**Author's Note:**

> You weren't prepared, were you?


End file.
